< Back Jon Gray Jon Gray Cherokee Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2024 Jon Gray played a key role in the Texas Rangers' early-season success and into the World Series in 2023, both on the field and behind the scenes. His gentle and soft-spoken demeanor belies the quiet leadership and accountability that he brings to the Texas clubhouse. Through June 8, 2023, Gray ranked among American League leaders in ERA (5th, 2.32), opponent batting average (5th, .201), WHIP (6th, 0.964), and wins (T9th, 6). Over a span of six starts this season from May 8-June 7, Gray produced a stretch in which he went 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA (4 ER/43.0 IP), with his only loss in that span coming in a complete-game 1-0 Rangers defeat on June 7 vs. St. Louis. He had a span of 17 consecutive scoreless innings from May 8-20, the longest scoreless stretch of his career, and recorded his 1000th career strikeout on April 26 at Cincinnati. He began a start on May 13 at Oakland with 6.2 hitless innings, the longest no-hit bid by a Texas starter in over five years. During game three of the 2023 World Series against the Diamondbacks, Gray was brought in at a crucial time and pitched three scoreless innings in a victory out of the bullpen. He only had one hit and had five strike outs in 30 pitches earning the win as the Rangers were up two games to one in the World Series going into game four. In 2022, Gray began the #MissionGraywWolf22 program hosting military groups to three Texas Rangers home games. In addition, he and his wife Jacklyn hosted a Toy Drive in December 2022 to collect toys for Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex and secured over 900 toys that benefitted over 16,000 families. The December 2023 Toy Drive was another success. This past season, Gray hosted twelve #MissionGrayWolf22 nights for military families across the Texas community. Gray was named the Texas Rangers 2023 Lou Gehrig and Bob Feller Act of Valor nominee and is on the Board of the Taylor Hooton Foundation. <Back

< Back Alicia Guerrero Alicia Guerrero Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Alicia Guerrero is an enrolled member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation who has grown up and attended school on the Yakama Reservation. Guerrero lost her left leg in 2005 at the age of two years old. Beginning her Para Athletics career in 2018, she broke multiple Washington State records as a high school freshman and has since competed nationally in the F64 category for shot put and discus. Guerrero competed in wheelchair basketball and throwing events at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before transferring to San Diego State University in 2024 to fully dedicate herself to her competitive throwing career. Beyond the field, Guerrero is passionate about education, with aspirations to become an elementary school teacher serving Native American communities. Guerrero’s drive stems from a commitment to representation—both for disabled athletes and strong Indigenous women. She proudly incorporates her heritage into her competitions, wearing beaded earrings and bold, creative makeup as a testament to the spaces where Indigenous excellence belongs. Guerrero was named to the 2022 National team for shot put. In 2023, she made her international debut at the Para Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, earning her first international medal: bronze in the F64 discus throw. When not competing, Guerrero channels her creativity into beading jewelry, spending time withher dogs and birds, and finds peace by the ocean. <Back

Haudenosaunee Nationals Women’s Box Lacrosse Team 2025 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back The Haudenosaunee Nationals Women’s Box Lacrosse Team made history in 2024, earning their place as trailblazers in international lacrosse. Competing at the 2024 World Lacrosse Championship in Utica, New York, the team clinched a historic bronze medal—the first-ever international championship medal awarded to the Haudenosaunee women in lacrosse. The Haudenosaunee women showcased extraordinary skill, resilience, and unity throughout the tournament, culminating in a commanding 21-4 victory over Team Australia in the bronze medal game. This landmark achievement not only brought pride to Indigenous communities across Turtle Island but also underscored the Haudenosaunee’s cultural and spiritual connection to lacrosse, known as the Creator’s Game. Comprised of athletes from Haudenosaunee and other Indigenous Nations, the team reflected the strength of community, tradition, and perseverance. Team members included: Akwesasne Mohawk Territory Jillian Benedict, Jadie Burns, Trysten Burns, Kharlene "Bineh" Garrow, Tallis Tarbell and Kyra Thompson Fort Albany First Nation Mekwan Tulpin Kanesatake First Nation Ava Gabriel Oneida Nation of the Thames Jada Doxtator Seneca Nation Lindsay John Six Nations of the Grand River Timmia Bomberry, Chelsea Doolittle, Chelsea Gibson, Amalee Jacobs, Kenley Jacobs, Chelsie John, Trisha John, Fawn Porter, Stacy Smith, Alisha Smith-Longboat, Joni Squire-Hill and Carey-Leigh Vyse Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory Kendall Tabobandung Walpole Island First Nation Ferrah Blackbird Wikwemikong Unceded Territory Mackenzie Shigwadja and Reese Shigwadja Team Staff Head Coach, Jason Johnson, Onondaga Assistant Coach, Randy Chrysler, Tuscarora Assistant Coach, Cheyenne Lazore, Akwesasne Mohawk Assistant Coach, Mary James, Métis Assistant Coach / Video Analyst, Matt Attwood, Six Nations of the Grand River Trainer / Dietician, Paul Staats, Six Nations of the Grand River Player Liaison, Karissa John, Six Nations of the Grand River General Manager, Jeff Powless, Akwesasne Mohawk Their triumph exemplifies the power of Indigenous women in sports and serves as an enduring testament to the Haudenosaunee’s deep-rooted lacrosse legacy. By earning a place on the international podium, these women broke barriers, inspired future generations, and strengthened the path toward greater recognition of Indigenous athletes on the world stage. The 2024 bronze medal not only marked a pivotal moment in lacrosse history but also symbolized the enduring sovereignty and resilience of the Haudenosaunee people.

< Back Ray Miller Ray Miller Shawnee Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Ray Miller was born on November 8, 1969, in the southwestern Oklahoma town of Marlow. His dad was a carpenter and mom was a housewife. Miller gained his first state title in fifth grade. He won another grade school state title in sixth grade and then went on to win three junior high state titles in seventh, eighth and ninth grade. He finished out high school with three state titles, two times ending up as the outstanding wrestler of the tournament, and in his senior year being voted the outstanding wrestler of Oklahoma. During his senior year he was invited to wrestle in the Pittsburgh Classic and it pit what were voted as the best senior high school wrestlers in the United States against Pennsylvania teams in one big dual meet. He won defeating Troy Sunderland of Pennsylvania. It was at the Pittsburgh classic that he would meet his future coach Bobby Douglas. That's when everything came full circle because when he was a child he grew up on Bobby Douglas's wrestling books, The Takedown 1 and The Takedown 2. Miller studied the books while growing up and had already trained to Coach Douglas's style. He ended up signing with Arizona State and Coach Bobby Douglas. He spent the next five years, redshirting his freshman year, honing his skills under Coach Douglas and then his senior year under Coach Leroy Smith. Miller ended up with four All American titles being a two time finalist and attaining a national title in 1993 at 167 lbs. He coached at Arizona State for another year and then moved back to Oklahoma and coached at the University of Oklahoma for another year and a half. He currently lives back in his home town of Marlow and helps out with the wrestling program whenever he can. <Back

< Back Aspen Wesley Aspen Wesley Choctaw Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2025 Aspen Wesley was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 2000. She is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and grew up in the Pearl River Community on the Choctaw Indian reservation. She sees playing softball as her way to inspire the next generation of native kids in her tribe and others. Aspen graduated from Mississippi State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in the spring of 2024 and played on a softball scholarship for five years. She was named 2024 second team all-SEC, two-time NCAA Pitcher of the Week, two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week, and 2023 NFCA All-America scholar-athlete. Aspen helped Mississippi State to their first-ever super regional in 2022. She then played professionally for the Texas Monarchs and was selected as an all-star. She also played overseas in New Zealand. She went to Neshoba Central High School and is a six-time state champion and four-time Mississippi softball Gatorade Player of the Year. When Aspen is done playing softball, she wants to be a pitching coach for college schools. She would love to give back to her community and educate/motivate Native kids to see the world, whether sports-related or academics. Her family and her native people are what have given her the drive to strive for more. Aspen remains committed to pushing the boundaries, learning, and helping others. She hopes to make a meaningful impact in her professional work and community. <Back

< Back Rainelle Jones Rainelle Jones Cree Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2023 Rainelle Jones is part Cree on her mother’s side and grew up in Oxon Hill, Maryland with her two parents Michelle Jonasson-Jones and Thomas Jones, and her younger siblings Reis, Ria, Renee & Ryla Jones. Playing on varsity basketball and volleyball freshman year at Oxon Hill High school, she soon committed to the University of Maryland for volleyball as a freshman in 2015. Soon selected as PrepVolleyball's No. 32 Senior Ace in 2016 and 2017, Rainelle Jones was one of 22 players selected to the USA High Performance Youth A1 Team. Coming to the University of Maryland in 2018, Rainelle Jones, freshman through her grad year of college played and contributed to Maryland becoming one of the best Blocking teams in the Big10 and NCAA. Meanwhile, in the 2020-2021 season, she was the first athlete to kneel during the National Anthem as a fight for social injustice. Using the NCAA NIL opportunities, she worked with merchandise companies raising awareness with slogans and a vision for the future as an activist. Becoming a guest speaker for Maryland Athletics in conferences, classes, podcasts, and events as a student-athlete. In addition to being a spokeswoman for the Big10 volleyball and athletics since 2021. In 2022, Rainelle graduated with an American Studies degree and a minor in Leadership Studies. On the court, by her graduate year, she reached her 700th career kills and becoming the #1 in program history leading Maryland Volleyball in total Blocks. A 4x Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, a 2x Big Ten and NCAA blocks per set leader, and historically the first student-athlete in Maryland Athletics to be #1 in the NCAA ever. Rainelle is currently signed to play overseas professional volleyball. Photo Credits and Captions: University of Maryland volleyball game and roster photo, year 2022 <Back

Sagkeeng Old Timers Team 2024 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back The Sakgeeng Oldtimers Hockey Club had its origins at the Sakgeeng First Nation, a community 100 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba, with players ranging in age from 35 to over 50. The players were of Ojibway and Cree ancestry and came from native communities throughout Manitoba. The team was founded by Walter and Verna Fontaine. The first language of the team is Saulteaux, and the club wears the red and white colors of the Fort Alexander Indian Band. Sakgeeng is the Saulteaux word for “at the mouth of the river”, and the community of Sakgeeng (named Fort Alexander by fur traders) is at the mouth of the Winnipeg River where it empties into Lake Winnipeg. The team joined the Canadian Old Timers Hockey Association (COHA) in 1978 and played in international tournaments sponsored by COHA in Copenhagen, Denmark (1978); Toronto, Canada (1982); Munich, West Germany (1983); London, England (1984); Nice, France (1985); Paris, France (1986); Montreal, Canada (1987); and Montreal, Canada (1988). The teams won the 1983 World Cup in Munich, the 1987 World Cup in Montreal, and the 1988 COHA National Cup in Montreal. The Sakgeeng Old Timers were honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and artifacts for the teams are there on display. The roster of the teams included: Bob Boyer, Don Campbell, Paul Chartrand, Rene Desjarlais, Ted Fontaine, Dave Harper, John Hunter, George Kakeway, Gord Woo, Wayne Viznaugh, Phil Fontaine, Walter Fontaine, Norman Gunn, Bernie Wood, Ken Young, Jim Neilson, Mercel Flett, Joe Malcolm, Ron Guimond, Gerald Harry, Jim Prince, George Hickes and Rene Norma Ted Fontaine and Jim Neilson are also individually inducted in the athlete category in the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.

Algonquin/Iroquois Officials Jerod Phillips Cherokee Gary Hull Inupiaq Danny McCourt Algonquin/Iroquois Brian Chrupalo Pine Creek Frist Nation 282 Michael Thomas St. Croix Ojibwe

AlgonCrees Team 2025 Induction Category: Year Inducted <Back In the fall of 2024, AlgonCrees had participated in the World Broomball Championship in Megeve/St. Gervais, France. The team was made up of Algonquin and Cree women within the province of Quebec in Canada, hence the name AlgonCrees. Not only was it a privilege to play in a high calibre tournament, it was an honour to play with our very own all-Indigenous broomball team. This is a prime example of unity for the love of broomball. While in France, the AlgonCrees were truly grateful for all the tremendous support we had received from our people back home. We felt the whole Algonquin and Cree Nation rooting for us from afar. The AlgonCrees are pictured with their silver medals. They lost by two points in the Gold Medal game versus the USA Gray Ducks. Top left: Katie Nottaway, Tanya Nottaway, Elizabeth Hester, Gwen Tenasco, Lorrain Nottaway, Aleasha Bush, Wynonna Ratt, Wanessa Thusky, Delci Wadden, Stephanie Wawatie-Whiteduck; Bottom left: Brooklyn Dixon, Destiney Isik- Blacksmith, Amanda M. Neeposh, Erin Gull, Shayden Decoursay, Koyesha Iserhoff

< Back Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard CHamoru Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete/Builder 2023 Briana Mazzolini-Blanchard is a community organizer, Indigenous environmental conservation advocate, educator, and rock climber. She is Native CHamoru and Indigenous to the island of Guam, a US territory, but currently resides on the ancestral homeland of the Shawandasse Tula and Myaamia peoples in Cincinnati, Ohio with her partner and son. Mazzolini-Blanchard is the Co-Founder of the Indigenous Field Guide, a digital resource created to amplify Indigenous voices and provide public education to prevent the damage of non-renewable environmental and cultural resources, and she is also the Strategic Partnerships Manager for Access Fund, the nation's leading climber advocacy organization. She is an athlete representing Mammut North America, Gnarly Nutrition, SCARPA North America, Rhino Skin Solutions, and Asana Climbing. <Back

Dominic Tiger-Cortes Muscogee Creek Induction Category: Year Inducted Trainer 2024 <Back Dominic Tiger-Cortes is a Native youth programming consultant and a professional skills development basketball trainer based in New York City. He is the founder and Creative Director for “Honor Our Only Passion” (H.O.O.P.) Medicine, a program founded on a philosophy that Dominic created and lives by. He incorporates this philosophy when working with the youth by teaching basic fundamentals, advanced skills, and honoring the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health aspects that can be used for basketball and in life. H.O.O.P. Medicine’s mission is to create a positive wellness and healthy lifestyle culture for our youth and future generations. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Tiger-Cortes grew up with a passion for basketball. He was a four-year letterman at Glendora High School in California, where he tallied 1,667 career points, was a three-time All-League recipient, three-time All-California Interscholastic Federation recipient and the 2008 San Gabriel Valley Tribune Player of the Year. Tiger-Cortes continued on to Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas where he was a critical piece in the school’s winningest team in four years. Tiger-Cortes also earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Haskell. Aside from his personal athletic career, he has extensive experience training athletes from colleges including Cal State Fullerton, University of Arizona, and NYU, as well as tribal colleges including Haskell Indian Nations University, United Tribes, Bacone College and Northwest Indian College. Tiger-Cortes trained professional players from leagues in Europe, Puerto Rico, Mexico, to the NBA G League. His true mission is to bridge his training experiences and share them with Native youth across all of Indian Country through sports, cultural and wellness programs. Having already collaborated with tribes across the country, such as Fort Mojave, Nez Perce, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Seminole Tribe of Florida, and Seneca Nation, Tiger-Cortes’ vision is to share the benefits of his journey with every tribe.

< Back Cynthia Yerby Cynthia Yerby Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma Induction Category: Year Inducted Athlete 2026 Cynthia Yerby, a proud member of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma, was a 10-time Women’s Arm-Wrestling Champion, a student counselor/advocate, and a cultural artist. Cynthia was a dedicated and inspirational professional with 35 years of experience as a college counselor, empowering students – especially those from Indigenous and underrepresented backgrounds – to pursue higher education and personal growth. Cynthia had been recognized globally for her athletic excellence, cultural representation, and unwavering commitment to mentorship and leadership. Cynthia received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Psychology and her Master of Education in Counseling and Student Services from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. She was an inductee of the Seminole State College Hall of Fame and an inductee of the National Arm-Wrestling Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Sports Museum. Cynthia was a recipient of the AARP Indian Elders Award. She was also awarded the SSC Emeritus Status. As an advisor/college counselor for Seminole State College, Cynthia advised and mentored thousands of students across three decades, with a strong focus on first-generation, Indigenous, and underserved populations. She partnered with tribal education offices and national organizations to increase college access for Native youth. Cynthia received multiple university and community service awards for excellence in counseling and mentorship. Cynthia is the founder and lead designer for Native Designs by Cynthia Yerby: Seminole Patchwork & Fashion. She creates hand/machine-sewn, custom patchwork garments rooted in Seminole tradition with contemporary flair. Her work has been worn in fashion shows, powwows, stomp dances, and cultural celebrations across the U.S. and Canada. Cynthia’s patchwork has also been published in “Piecework Magazine”. Cynthia’s athletic achievements included being named the 1997, 1998, and 2001 USWA/USAA World Wrist-Wrestling Champion. She was named the 1998 and 1999 World Arm-Wrestling Federation Ladies Masters Champion. Cynthia was the 10-time USA Women’s World Champion, an international competitor and represented Team USA worldwide including Russia, Japan, Finland, Sweden, and Canada. Inducted into the New York Wrestling Hall of Fame, she was an 11-time United States National Champion and holds 31 state championships across the country. Notable opponents Cynthia defeated includes country music/acting star Tim McGraw, blues legend B.B. King, and former football coach Barry Switzer. <Back